Sunday, February 5, 2017

Interview: Just how accurate were the visions of Edgar Cayce -- "the sleeping prophet'?

This is the second segment of a four-part series spanning my discussion with Alison Ray. The first article is available here. Text quoted below appeared in yesterday's piece, offering background on the subject matter.

Story by Joseph Ford CottoHe was called "the sleeping prophet," and even the man's critics must admit that this was for good reason.His name was Edgar Cayce. He was a humble, unassuming man who came from a region many would deride as "nowhere"; the coalfields of eastern Kentucky. His mission in life, though, was grand as can be encompassed: to improve the human condition by elevating it to a point of comprehensive understanding about health, history, and spirituality. Cayce was, beyond anything else, a man of purpose. His search for answers to complex questions helped others find their place in a world where many are taught to shy away from difficult queries -- if for no other reason than to maintain social cohesion. Cayce was all about the individual and helping him or her become the best he or she could be.Cayce's work was done through meditation, during which time he appeared to be asleep. When he woke, he would share information with those around him, and his words often proved clairvoyant. Those who placed their trust in Cayce frequently found his predictions to be word-for-word in alignment with what wound up taking place.Of course, his track record was not perfect, and it declined in accordance with his physical health. Nonetheless, even for the devoutly skeptical fellow such as myself, his work is too substantive to dismiss as sheer coincidence.Doing so, in and of itself, is a leap of faith.Alison Ray is the head of public information at Edgar Cayce's Association for Research and Enlightenment. She spoke to me about Cayce's life and legacy. Some of our conversation is included below.

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Joseph Ford Cotto: Futuristic visions consumed a large part of Cayce's efforts. Have most of these come to pass?Alison Ray: An analysis was done many years ago on the topics from the readings and less than 2% were actually about future events. Most people are really surprised to learn that.

1)The Stock Market Crash of 1929 2) World War II 3) Pole Shift 4) Convergence of Communications Companies 5) The Life of the Essenes 6) Blood Used as a Diagnostic Tool 7) La Niña and El Niño Effect

In addition to that type of information, there were often statements made by Cayce that have now been verified. One example, is that the Nile River flowed into the Atlantic Ocean. It wasn’t until 1986 that images of that area were taken from space that confirmed this statement.

Joseph Ford Cotto: Of all the recorded historical visions Cayce had, how many were confirmed by evidence? For those visions that did not pan out, can one say that Cayce had incorrect perceptions or should his efforts be considered in a different light?

Alison Ray: The book The Outer Limits of Edgar Cayce’s Power, written by his sons Hugh Lynn Cayce and Edgar Evans Cayce, reviewed all of the Cayce Readings and determined that 85% were accurate and could be verified. The book is out of print, but I continue to use it for reference. In depth it reviewed the 15% of the readings that were deemed not to be accurate. These included things like finding missing people, tapping oil wells, and searching buried treasure.

The authors found that there were a number of factors that improved the accuracy of the readings including the intention or purpose of the individual asking for the reading, the emotions and attitude of the patient, conductor, those present in the room, and even to some extent the health of Edgar Cayce himself. The book also suggested that the source of the information being given in the reading was also important. In the early readings, the source was the mind of individuals who were asking for a reading and the mind of all souls living or deceased. Sometimes a discarnate spirit or an angel could answer the questions.

Later, Cayce would actually be able to tap directly into the Akashic Records which contain the written records of the thoughts and deeds of every soul.